Engineering is one of the most popular fields among Indian youth. This predisposition stems mostly from the field's great employment possibilities. The stats back up its popularity: approximately 10 lakh students took the Joint Entrance exams (JEE) to get admission to top engineering universities this year, accounting for roughly 60% of students who took the CBSE Class 12 or Higher Secondary exams.
Only 25% of these students get to the next and more demanding JEE Advanced level. The JEE (Main and Advanced) exams are well-known for being one of the most difficult undergraduate admission assessments.
While there are many reasons to be joyful after being admitted to a BTech programme at an IIT, it is very uncommon for some students to become sad and disillusioned fairly quickly. This can occur as a result of not gaining a seat in computer science, dropping grades at some point, or subsequently, not receiving a job offer with the same CTC (pay package) as another would have had.
To avoid this, every student and worried parent must shun any delusion, harbour no unreasonable expectations, and be clear about one's inclination, ability, and future dream - what one wishes to be, what will satisfy one the most, what is valuable and what is not.
Can the CTC deliver complete satisfaction on its own? Do we know enough about what it's like to complete a four-year BTech programme at an IIT?
A typical engineering undergraduate programme is exceptionally fast-paced, demanding, competitive, and hard. This kind of pressure brings out the best in people. In reality, competent and focused people never complain about their workload or difficulties.
Every hour, with each new lecture, tutorial, or sessional, the subject, teacher, context, delivery, style, and level of complexity may change.
Class tests, surprise quizzes, seminar presentations, assignment submissions, and semester examinations begin to emerge at regular intervals before one recognises it.
Everyone who enters IIT is a highly talented individual with nearly equal levels of intellectual ability. It is critical to perform well and to constantly develop and improvise every day.
Because everyone around you is equally sharp and keen, any severe distraction or lack of attention or focus is bound to harm grades and progress, which in turn may jeopardise future professional options such as employment or higher education. As a result, one cannot afford to be inattentive and error-prone, lest one squander the highly valued opportunity that one has won for oneself by qualifying for JEE.
However, life at an IIT isn't all work and no play. On top of dozens of student activity clubs and contests, various annual festivals, hackathons, sports meets, and periodic lectures, each department has a student society.
Above all, living in a hostel with friends from all over the country with varied language, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds makes life truly fascinating, entertaining, and educational.
In fact, friends teach you more than a speaker or textbooks. Another wonderful source of inspiration, encouragement, ideas, and career progress is the large pool of successful and legendary IIT alumni scattered over the world in academia, research organisations, government, and industry. It is always beneficial to build relationships with them.
IITs are well-known not only for their teaching capabilities, but also for their contributions to engineering research. It will assist you if you engage in some level of research work while at an IIT, whether through a term paper, a short project, or a UG/PG thesis. Because knowledge is constantly expanding and advancing, it is also a good idea for every young professional to pursue a higher degree either directly after graduation or later after taking a vacation from the service.
Many IITs consistently pursue highly appealing overseas connections that include student and scholar exchanges, summer internships, joint degree programmes, and visit possibilities. To take use of all of these facilities and possibilities, each student must develop excellent articulation, comprehension, and communication skills. These soft talents might give you an advantage in an interview or group discussion.
All IITs offer student activity clubs that promote, among other things, debate, extempore speech, reporting, web design, and programming. There are numerous possibilities, but time and space are limited. No matter how hard one tries, the day will not be extended by even a minute over its customary duration of 24 hours. As a result, it is critical that IIT students learn to prioritise and select the basics. Engineering provides a variety of unique solutions; every day comes a new challenge and opportunity; it is up to us to maximise our use of them.
